February 10, 2007
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History Note
Inside
“The farther back you look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
■ Ashley Treatment Debated—p. 3 ■ Remembering Chuck Frahm—p. 4 ■ Accessible Habitat Home—p.5
—Winston Churchill Page 2 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Mpls. MN Permit No. 4766
Volume 20, Number 2
Minnesota’s Disability
Community Newspaper
February 10, 2007
New UN Disability Rights Treaty 20 Nations Must Sign to Activate This New Law by Katherine Guernsey
O
n December 13, 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the first ever UN convention to address the human rights of people with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the first core international human rights conven-
Arizona Split Over Minimum Wage Some want new increase to leave a loophole to pay disabled workers less by Catherine Komp
U
nder Arizona’s new minimum-wage law, some of the lowestpaid workers – including those who made just pennies per hour a few days ago – are to get a raise this week. But some groups don’t want the wage hike to apply to people with disabilities. Before voters passed Arizona’s new wage law, certain workers with disabilities were exempt from the minimum wage and were paid what are called “commensurate wages” instead. Under the new law, effective January 1, employers must pay even these employees the standard $6.75 hourly minimum wage.
“‘Commensurate wage’ is an Orwellian tag for a law that legalizes inequality,” said disability-rights activist and author Marta Russell. “It degrades the disabled laborer to equate his [or] her productive capacity as less than [that of] a non-disabled laborer and to not give them equal pay. Who is to say that the disabled worker’s labor is not equal to
of Labor’s Web site says alcoholism and drug addiction are also “disabilities which may affect productive capacity.” For states that have minimumwage laws, many include waivers to ensure that employers can continue to pay sub-minimum wages. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Colorado included such waivers in their new minimumwage increases, also going into effect this week. But Arizona failed to include an exemption in the language of its voter-approved ballot initiative last November.
“[Federal law] permits employers to pay belowminimum wages to workers whose “productive capacity is impaired by a physical or mental disability, in- Some 5,600 employers pay cluding those relating to sub-minimum wages to about Some advocates for people age or injury.” 424,000 workers across the with disabilities support commensurate wage policies, saying it boosts employment for people who employers might otherwise refuse to hire, and they are asking the state legislature to reinstate the wage exceptions. But others call the practice discriminatory, exploitative and one more way to segregate people with disabilities.
or more productive or profitable for their employers than the average couch potato’s?” The federal Fair Labor Standards Act permits employers to pay below-minimum wages to workers whose “productive capacity is impaired by a physical or mental disability, including those relating to age or injury.” The Department
country, according to a 2001 report from the US Government Accountability Office. More than half of these workers make less than $2.50 an hour. To pay a worker a commensurate wage, the Department of Labor requires an employer to analyze a job’s requirements and compare the proMin. Wage - cont. on p. 14
tion (also called a “treaty”) of the twenty-first century. As noted by then Secretary General, Kofi Annan, this was the fastest negotiated human rights convention in the history of international law, having been completed in just under five years! The CRPD will be opened for signature by UN Member States on March 30, 2007. From that point onwards, countries will be able to become States Parties to the Convention by signing and then ratifying it. Once a country becomes a States Party, it is legally obliged to comply with the provisions set forth in the convention. Twenty countries must become States Parties in order for the CRPD to “enter into force,” a term used to mean that the convention is legally activated and operational. Once the CRPD has entered into force, the committee of experts will be formed to monitor implementation of the Convention and ensure that States Parties are living up to their commitments. History of the CRPD The current process to draft the CRPD began in December of 2001. At that time Mexico sponsored a General Assembly resolution to establish an “Ad Hoc Committee” to consider proposals for a new human rights convention for people with disabilities. The Ad Hoc Committee met for a total of eight sessions at UN Headquarters in New York, with each session lasting two or three weeks each. The final meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee took place last December, when they adopted a final text for consideration by the UN General Assembly. Throughout the Ad Hoc Committee sessions, people with disabilities from around the world played a critical role,
providing unique perspectives based on their lived experiences. Over time, many government delegations came to include people with disabili-
“[The treaty also requires] that people with disabilities and their representative organizations be consulted by government in all decisions affecting their lives. This requirement of consultation is not seen as a favor, but rather a right…” ties as members of their delegations. During the phase when the first draft of the Convention was put together, people with disabilities from a variety of Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) participated on an equal basis with governments. Never before have members of international civil society played such an involved and integrated role in a process to draft a UN human rights convention. Although some government delegations were initially opposed to this type of participation, the DPO rallying cry
“At present the United States is undecided as to whether it will even sign the Convention, let alone become a States Party.” of “Nothing About Us Without Us” proved too strong to resist; over the course of the negotiations those same government delegations came to rely on the counsel, knowledge and leadership of the people with disabilities participating in the process. Benefits of the New Treaty What then does the CRPD offer to people with disabilities, including disabled people here in the United States? First of all, it should be noted that the CRPD is not, and cannot
be, a “magic bullet” for all the problems faced by disabled people in different countries. Nor can it provide solutions to these problems overnight. What the CRPD does offer is a powerful tool for use by people with disabilities and disability advocates. The CRPD covers the full range of human rights, and clarifies what governments must do to ensure that people with disabilities are able to fully enjoy their human rights, whoever they are and wherever they live. Moreover, the provisions of the CRPD are legally binding for governments who become States Parties. That means they must comply with their obligations, instead of just taking action when they feel like it. The CRPD also draws international attention to disability issues, helping to ensure that disabled people are no longer “invisible” within the international human rights system. With a Committee in place to monitor implementation of the CRPD, governments will be held accountable for their actions, and disability advocates will have a body to turn to when violations occur. The CRPD Committee will also serve as a resource, helping other existing human rights treaty bodies to understand how to address disability issues in their work to monitor the implementation of the other UN human rights conventions. For people with disabilities who live in countries without legislation like the ADA, the CRPD will hopefully prompt their governments to adopt such legislation, giving disabled people in those countries another tool to use in their advocacy. For people with disabilities here in the United States, the CRPD can help to promote and reinvigorate the original spirit of the Treaty - cont. on p. 14